What a Wonderful World
by Psychedelica
Summary: Falling in love: the next big adventure for an adventurous young Time Lady. Jenny's own little Parting of the Ways . . . Jenny/OC


**Here's my second songfic - Song #99 and Songfic #2. This is also my second story to be posted on this site, and I think it's my best so far(!)**

**Disclaimer - Last time I asked Steven Moffat for the ownership of Doctor Who, he pressed charges and applied for a restraining order. Now I'm hiding out in Mexico writing sad little stories and crying myself to sleep at night. So no, I don't own Doctor Who, or any of the characters or ideas associated with it. I do, however, own the setting and Thomas, and any plotlines. I don't own 'What a Wonderful World' either. Sadly.**

**Remember, reviews = love, and for every review you send, I will send you an invisible cookie through the post!**

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><p><em><strong>I see trees of green, red roses too<strong>_

Jenny glanced around in excitement. This was hardly new to her, but every time she set foot in a new place, she couldn't help but have that thrill of childish joy.

This place was beautiful, luscious, as if the whole planet were just one massive garden. Everywhere she looked was green, green and more green, various shades ranging from a pale lime to a deep olive. The only break from the greenness was the flowers, bright and luminous in the sunset's glow.

_**I see them bloom, for me and you**_

Jenny grinned, wandering into the deeper gardens and trying to take in everything she saw.

"You must be a tourist," someone stated, a hint of laughter in their voice.

Jenny turned, startled, and saw a young man sitting under an apple tree. It was impossible to tell, really, but Jenny decided he was human – he was humanoid at least. His sandy hair hung casually around his chin, and he had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

"More of an explorer," she smiled.

_**And I think to myself, what a wonderful world**_

The man stood up and made his way over to her, shaking her hand. "I'm Thomas. I'm kind of an explorer too. I came here a couple of years ago and decided to stay."

"How can you explore if you only stay in one place?" she wondered aloud.

He grinned, a wide beam that showed off two rows of perfectly straight, white teeth. "It's a big planet. I haven't finished looking yet."

_**I see skies of blue, and clouds of white**_

She and Thomas talked for almost an hour, sat under the apple tree and watching the larks glide past overhead. She'd never stayed in one place for so long, but she didn't mind the lack of activity. In fact, she was actually enjoying herself.

_**The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night**_

Before they noticed, the coppery sun had dropped past the horizon. Unlike some of the planets she'd visited, when the sun set, all light was extinguished. Jenny panicked for a moment, suddenly forgetting her surroundings, but Thomas's hand found hers in the darkness, squeezing slightly. She could see his bright white teeth, though put it down to a psychological thing since she could barely see her hand in front of her face.

He led her to a large enclosed area, a place which resembled a shopping mall. People in loose cotton clothes were milling about, chatting quietly and drinking in cafés. Jenny looked around at the mismatched conglomeration – most of them were humanoid, some with bright hair colours or odd skin tones, others strangely tall or short, and others with extra eyes, no noses, or heads that rotated 360 degrees. It was scenes like these that made her love travelling even more.

_**And I think to myself, what a wonderful world**_

Thomas took her to a large hall that was serving as a market area, selling all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Some of them Jenny recognised, others not so much. But there was one – an odd yellowy fruit she was _sure_ she'd seen before – that kept her staring until Thomas realised and bought some for her.

There were strangely shaped – almost like a boomerang, but smaller. Jenny sniffed it. It wasn't particularly appetising, but for some reason she was craving this strange yellow fruit.

Even though she'd never seen one before, she knew instinctively how to eat one. Without Thomas telling her to, she peeled the fruit and took a bite.

It was wonderful. Jenny had never tasted such a delicacy. The texture, the sweetness, the _colour_ (yellow was so pretty!). She felt a stirring in her deepest memories, right at the base of her soul. The taste had evoked a strong yet forgotten memory, and yet, try as she may, she couldn't quite remember what.

"You like bananas?" asked Thomas, smiling teasingly.

She shrugged. "Apparently."

_**The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky**_

Jenny spent the night wandering round the mall with Thomas, gazing into the windows of shops and chatting in cafés. They stayed for over an hour in the central area, which was a large white hall with a domed glass roof. Jenny was reminded of living in a golf ball.

Billions of stars above crowded the dome, winking down at the planet. Jenny wondered how many of them she'd seen close up, and how many she'd see in years to come.

At one point, Thomas reached over and took her hand. She jumped. No-one had ever done that before. But it was nice, his hand. Warm and comforting. So she let it stay.

_**Are also on the faces, of people going by**_

The night was shorter than she'd expected, the sun rising only a short time after it set. Jenny tried to remember what the planet had looked like when she'd approached – had it been spinning fast? Was it quite small? She couldn't remember, but didn't care. Closing her eyes, she leant her head on Thomas's shoulder, listening to the crowds swarm past them.

_**I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do**_

In the morning, she told Thomas about her dad. He was the first one she'd told since she'd seen him last. It hurt her to think that her dad thought she was dead, and she expressed her sorrow with Thomas, who was sympathetic. Nobody had acted sympathetic around her before.

_**They're really saying, I love you**_

Slowly but steadily, she told her entire life story to Thomas. The only thing that he seemed surprised at was her age. He hadn't taken well to being told she'd just turned two, but quickly got over the shock. In return, he told his entire (summarised) life story. He only told the abridged version, skipping over the finer details. It still took him twice as long as her, though.

Jenny felt closer to this almost-stranger than she ever had to anyone before. Well, anyone who wasn't related to her.

_**I hear babies crying, I watch them grow**_

At one point, they spotted a family the other side of the hall – complete with mother, father, baby girl, and slightly older boy. The perfect family. Jenny learnt that Thomas came from a dysfunctional family, with two warring divorced parents, a stepmother and various stepfathers, six stepsiblings, four half-siblings, and two full sisters.

They watched the little girl toddle along, managing seven paces before she toppled over and burst into tears.

"Hey look!" Thomas pointed. "She's actually younger than you!"

Jenny glared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. Thomas joined in, and after they'd finished, they just sat in a comfortable silence for almost half an hour.

_**They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know**_

Later, when the two of them headed outside again, the world was a lot busier than the previous evening. It was harvesting season, so workers were patrolling up and down the gardens, collecting apples and pears and oranges and those lovely fruits – what were they called? Bananas.

Thomas led her around, naming all the foods she hadn't yet been told a name of, and baffling her with facts about all sorts of flowers, plants and trees. He seemed slightly surprised at her lack of knowledge, but was eager to fill her in.

As the day wore on, he learnt more and more about the gaps in her knowledge. She absorbed everything he told her, a gift of photographic memory she'd probably inherited from her father. But Thomas was glad to teach, and she was happy to learn.

_**And I think to myself, what a wonderful world**_

Evening struck again, surprising her. She never stayed more than twenty-four hours in a place unless something exciting happened. But for some reason – and it wasn't the beautiful scenery, or the huge shopping mall – she wanted to stay.

_**Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world**_

"I have to go," she said bluntly, an eternity later. She didn't want to say the words, but she couldn't deny the need – the _urge_ – to explore.

Thomas looked at her for one very long moment, and she felt herself shrink down under his stare.

She didn't want to leave here. She didn't want to leave _him._ But she had to move on. She was her father's daughter. She couldn't settle down in one place for very long.

In the end, Thomas took her hand and sighed. He reached forward as if to kiss her – her hearts sped up dramatically – but stopped a few centimetres from her face. He moved his head so his mouth was by her ear, and whispered, "If you must."

She swallowed, touching his chest, her palm over his booming heart. "Thomas," she breathed.

He dropped his eyes, leaning forward until their foreheads touched. "Jenny."

Pause. "Thomas, come with me."

His breathing was ragged as he replied, "Jenny, I have a life here."

"You said it yourself. You said you were an explorer. You can't just . . . _unbecome_ an explorer."

"Unbecome?" he echoed with a laugh. She committed the lovely sound to memory. "You can come visit me, Jen. We'll make a date of it. We'll have a picnic – bananas, tea, the works."

"But . . ."

He shook his head. "Jenny, I _can't_. I've left that life behind. I live here now. Forever."

She wanted to say more – so much more, things like '_Please come' _and _'Don't leave me alone for the rest of my life' _and most importantly, so importantly, _'I love you'_. But words failed her, and she simply nodded, locking the feelings away inside for the time being.

"Bye, Jen," he whispered.

She just about managed to choke out, "Goodbye, Thomas."

Later, after she'd left the planet, she forced herself to forget about those days she'd spent on the garden planet. Took all her memories of Thomas and shoved them into the back of her mind, looking forwards to the future instead of back.

"Where to next?" she asked herself brightly.

She didn't realise it then, nor would she ever, but that day, Jenny had become just that little bit more like her father.


End file.
